


295 - New Years Eve 2019

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: Cute meet, F/M, Mini Fic, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 17:43:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17390795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: A mini fic about meeting Van at (almost) midnight.





	295 - New Years Eve 2019

Discount fireworks were being lit in backyards across your neighbourhood. The sound of them was scaring dogs, making them call to each other in howls and cries. Jesus… it wasn't even midnight yet. 

Sitting on the front step of your porch, you focused on your breathing. New Year's fucking Eve. Granted, it wasn't your most hated of all the bullshit holidays on the calendar, but fuck - it sure as hell was up there. With all the focus on self-improvement! goals and resolutions! get fit! drink more water! buy local! eat clean! start a business! run a fucking marathon! your already shitty outlook on life was compounded by guilt. Breathe in. Breathe out. 

For a moment you considered going back inside your empty house. 'House?' you chuckled to yourself. It was an old cottage with water damage and cracking walls. In fact, it was less than that. It was an old cottage split down the middle and rented out for double the money. You were the luckier of the two tenants; you got the half with the newly built bathroom add-on. It made up for having the old kitchen. 

You often wondered what the other half looked like. It was already occupied when the north side was up for rent. Whoever lived there was hardly home. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you'd catch a glimpse of someone struggling with keys and falling through the front door. They had a vampiric lifestyle. They lived under the cloak of night and it made it incredibly difficult for you to build a profile of your neighbour. You shared a bedroom wall with someone completely unknown to you. 

After the moment of consideration passed, you inhaled deeply. Despite the cold, you could tell people were holding parties outside. Cooking meat. Illegal bonfires. All those celebration smells floated through the air and reminded you of what you were missing. 'By choice,' you told yourself. You could have been out if you wanted to be. But when had a New Year's party ever been good? 

"Get ready!" a voice echoed down the street. 

The atmosphere was anticipatory more than… electric. Something was coming. The new year, yeah… but… Goosebumps rose along the skin of your arms and the hairs on the back of your neck stood to attention. Something was coming. 

The cracked screen of your phone told you it was 11:58. 

"Fuck!" 

Your head spun in the direction of the noise instinctively. He was tripping over plants in his completely unkempt front garden. Watching him, you couldn't figure out where he came from… Given how loud he was being in his attempt to make it to his front door, it would have been expected that he'd make a racket coming up the street. But, you hadn't heard him at all. 

By the time he was at the front door, you realised you'd waited too long to make yourself known. If you said anything now, it would be obviously you'd been there the whole time. How had he not seen you, though? Your front step wasn't illuminated by a porch light, but it wasn't exactly hidden in shadows either. 

He patted his back pockets, then shoved his hands into his front ones. As he ripped his hands out, his phone went clattering to the ground. "Fuck!" he mumbled, but failed to retrieve the phone. You could see the screen of it, lit up and now cracked like yours. He continued his search. In his blazer he found his wallet, letting that fall to the ground when it didn't contain keys. 

'Spare key?' you thought. Like he had heard you, he widened his search to under the doormat and around the place. Slowly, he began to step through the garden. His aimlessness was evident and as he walked drunken circles, you had to cover your mouth to stop yourself laughing. 

A mistake. 

You realised it instantly. 

As you moved, his eyes were drawn to you and he suddenly stood very still. 

One of you was prey and the other was the predator. You weren't sure which you were, and neither did he. 

Then, in complete unison, you both jumped in fright at the screaming sky. Fireworks shot up from the city, raining colourful light down and making him clear to you for the first time. He was still looking up, a beautiful dumb expression of awe spread across his face. This. This was your neighbour. He was… something. 

As your ears and his adjusted to the background sounds of people cheering and far-off explosions, his attention fell back on you. 

"Well then, love. Happy New Year and all that!" he said cheerily. 

Maybe he wasn't as drunk as you thought? 

"Yeah… ah, Happy New Year," you replied a little hesitantly. 

"So… you're the little bird that lives here then?" he said, pointing to your half of the shared cottage. "Strange that we ain't never crossed paths before," 

"You're not here much," 

"Guess not… Bit rude of me, innit?" He stepped over the small, white picket fence that divided the two front yards. It was easier for him not to step on plants on your side, given that you at least half cared for yours. "I'm Van. It's nice to finally meet ya," he said as he sat down on the step next to you and offered a hand to shake. 

Van saw you consider his offer before shaking. It made his mouth curl into a small smile. 

"Y/N… So, you, ah, lost your keys then?" 

Van laughed and nodded. "Looks that way, huh? Dead sure I had 'em… but don't remember. Probably inside on the kitchen table. Reckon that's where I last saw 'em. Havin' a smoke before we headed out," 

"No spare," 

"Ah… don't really remember that either. Got so much to remember these days, you know what I mean? Guess me head just fits in the important stuff," 

"Getting into your own house not being one of them," you asked in a sly tone. 

Van laughed again, then shrugged. "Nah. Not a big concern when I got neighbours like you that can put me up for the night, yeah?" 

"Wow!" you replied, laughing at his bold audacity. "So he's forgetful and presumptuous. What a combo," 

"Yeah, love! I'm magic." 

The fireworks had stopped. You only really noticed because their reflections disappeared from Van's eyes. Plunged into near-complete darkness again, you suddenly felt cold, but far away from the loneliness that had been setting in at quarter to twelve. 

"So, why you home on New Year's? Nobody else here?" Van asked, looking over his shoulder at the cottage, no lights on and standing quietly behind you both. 

"No, nobody else. Not really big on the whole… I don't know… made up holiday thing, you know?" 

"Made up? It's literally a new year, love," Van replied, smirking. 

"Yeah. Yes, I know that. I mean… like… What's the point in celebrating it?" 

"Any reason for some good craic, I say," 

"Well why are you home before midnight then?" you countered. 

Van paused, smiling. "That's a bit of a long story, love. Promise it's a good one but… How 'bout I tell it to ya over a cuppa? Two sugars and a good dash of milk!" 

It wasn't like you were letting a stranger into your house. If you looked at it the right way, it was his house two. 

Van followed you through the front door, and as you put the kettle on and washed two mugs in the kitchen sink, he poked around, being just about as nosey as you predicted he would be.

Breathe in. Breathe out.


End file.
